****Letting God Heal and Liberate You!

        Yesterday while I was cleaning out a desk drawer in my old study, I found something I wrote in 1975 on a typewriter. It's about ten pages long, double spaced. You see, I was involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal at the time and that was written as an assignment for a group of us seeking inner healing from the Lord at a person's house. The Lord has the power to heal all our inner wounds, pains, and sufferings, both present and past. We were to recall and write down everything that had robbed us of inner peace and present it to the Lord. It took me quite some time to get that done. Of course, we did not share any of these private recollections with each other at the meeting, for it sufficed that the Lord knew all about them. Anyway, I quickly went over what I found. If that had been written by someone else, I'd feel very sorry for that person, for he surely was unhappy, all mixed up, and lost, struggling to be somebody. Then I realized that I was now a completely different person, being so happy in the Lord and myself that I had zero desire to be someone else. I wanted to celebrate my freedom—it's all God's doing! Because the change took place over a period of time, I didn't not realize how far I had come. The past is all gone and the future is brighter than the sun. When you know you are on your way to be with your most beloved forever, how can you possibly not feel exhilarated? 

***Difficult Teachings

         In yesterday's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "Offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow." I could see that Jesus himself certainly practiced what he preached. But how about us? I have great difficulty with the first saying about offering no resistance to one who is evil. What if someone wants to kill me and my entire family? I even have trouble giving money to anyone who asks of me, when I know that it's a scam. Should we not even fight evil? I believe that the Lord basically wants us to always love others, including our enemies. What he requires us to do is most difficult, all the more we need to abandon ourselves to him. I believe the consolation here is that if we love God, he will never put us to any test we cannot pass. 

**On God's Mercy

        I used to be teacher at a college. Usually, I set the passing score at 60%. If a student scored a 59, should I fail him? You need a cutoff, but how strictly should I adhere to it? What about the student who would have done better if some unfortunate event hadn't happened to prevent him from studying for the exam? Shouldn't the student who tried really hard to pass be given special consideration? These were the questions I asked myself. I believe that God's mercy is flexible. We already know that he loves us and wants to save as many of us as he can. Many of us are basically imperfect, but not exactly evil. He'll look for any little merit we have in order to save us. The existence of purgatory is a sign of his great mercy. Repentance ensures that we'll get into heaven. To me, the best policy is to love and serve the Lord to the max and we won't need to be concerned about how he's going to judge us anymore.

***Serving the Lord

         There are people we cannot reach or we can reach but are not able to convert. This is where we need to abandon ourselves completely to God. We work for him, but let him complete everything we do. And know that when we serve the Lord, we are always his first beneficiaries. 

**God Is Fire!

         It pains me greatly to see people not taking Christ seriously. One case in point. I saw the work of an artist playing around with the images of Christ on the cross and the Cross. These images probably amused a lot of people, but to me they were so irreverent as to be blasphemous. If I were at that art show, I would have let him know of my concern. The artist obviously didn't know Christ, but he was absolutely stupid not realizing that what he planned to do might offend many others to whom Christ was the Lord God. Know that with God, we are playing with the fire we can be cast into one day if we are not being careful with it.

*We Are Completely Exposed

         All those people who have had a near-dearth experience claim that even when they were out of their own body, they could see everything that's going on in the world except that they couldn't contact us. This was also confirmed by some seers who receive messages from heaven when they were asked this question. I personally believe that there are all kinds of spirits out there who see exactly what we are doing on earth, but are invisible to us. Of course, God is the only one who not only sees us, but also knows everything about us and can contact us. Just know that we are being watched at all times, but living for God alone is all we need to mind. 

*****How to Experience God*****

         I have visited many beautiful and magnificent cathedrals, basilicas, and churches which are big tourist attractions. Examples are Notre Dame of Paris and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. People flock there to see the impressive architecture, sculptures, murals, paintings, etc., but I would be surprised if many visitors actually felt drawn to Christ during their visit. All the attractions can easily become distractions. I attended Mass at one church in Escondido, CA, once. The singer was so good that it made me focus on the singing more than on the Lord. Over a decade ago, I attended daily Mass at a nearby seminary. The Mass was held in a small chapel with an altar and some stained glass windows. There were not even regular pews. So it's a rather spare place. Yet in remaining at the chapel alone after Mass, I experienced many spiritual breakthroughs. Now this chapel had been fully furbished with pews, red carpet, improved lighting, etc. and looks beautiful. Somehow I miss its former spare look which was less distracting. I had mentioned that I felt the intimacy of God most when I woke up late at night or very early in the morning when it's quiet and dark. So the best way to experience God is to be in solitude without any distraction, leaving only you and God alone together. The world does not know God because it is being distracted by all sorts of things not of God.

**Never a Lonely Moment

         Whether you are young or old, extrovert or introverted, if you feel lonely, you do not know God yet. Attain union with the Lord so that he becomes one with you, then you can be in the desert all alone and still do not feel lonely. As a matter of fact, the lonelier the place, the more acutely you'd feel his presence.

***To the Max with God*

         If we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, namely, to the max, then let's do everything to the max for the Lord. This would include praying from the heart, loving others, maintaining our sanctify, remaining genuine, speaking the truth always, submitting ourselves to him, worshipping him, praising him, and all other good deeds we perform. When you love the Lord to the max, you will be blessed and rewarded by him to the max too. This is living to the max, the happiest living. 

***Holy Greed

        In Matthew 7:11, Jesus said, "If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him." You can be sure whatever you ask for that's good for you, the Father will give it to you! God cannot refuse us blessings when we seek them. Ask for "what will make you holy and glorify him" to the max. Holy greed is perfectly fine.

*****Holy Eucharist Most Holy!*****

       Christ the Lord has made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may be saved from eternal death. And he has given us the great gift of his most precious body and blood through the Holy Eucharist. In receiving this Sacrament of Holy Communion, we get to nourish our body and soul. In consuming his body and blood, we get to achieve union with him physically and spiritually. I bring all this up again because I want all Catholics to know that the next time you receive the Holy Eucharist, you must receive it in a state of grace with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, for the Most Holy, Loving Lord from heaven is entering you!

***Prayer Power

        Going back decades before I knew Christ, I read a book that says prayers work. I don't think the author was any fervent Christian; he just wrote what he had discovered. So I thought that must be something to prayers. Of course, now I know that Christ is real and is God, and he hears and knows everything we do. If we pray with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, you can be sure the Lord will open his heart wide to us and bless us or the world in some way. So with prayer we can influence and change God's heart, ultimately to benefit us and the whole world. 

**Short, Simplified Meditative Prayer

         Sometimes there are myriad things on my mind to pray for and I don't even know where to begin. I decided to just pray the name of Jesus. While saying "Jesus" each time, I let him know my request. It could be just one thing or group of things. This way I save a lot of words and proceed in a proper order and the Lord knows exactly what I pray for each time I say his holy name.

**Our Big Glaring Fault

        One big fault we have today is that we see the faults in others but not in ourselves. It's so easy to blame and complain about others, but never about ourselves. We wish that others would change, but not us. This is being self-centered, wanting everyone to live up to our expectations. It is forgetting that only God is our judge and only he is perfect.

***The Heart Reveals God's Existence

         Today is the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Think about our heart, it is one of God's most amazing creations. We all have a heart and know that the purity of the heart determines our sanctity. It is our very center and what we use in contacting God. The Lord looks at the heart when he judges us. It is the heart that experiences God's peace and joy and all our other emotions. And the Lord usually always speaks to us through our heart. Most of all, when God chooses to dwell in us, he choose to dwell in our heart. Right now my heart tells me that we do have an amazing creator, our Lord and our God.

***Best Relationship We Can Have

         Our relationships with other fellow human beings can be good or bad. In a good relationship, you and the other person will always love, support, and help each other. How about a good relationship with God? It has to be better than any good relationship between two humans. Think about it, God knows you more than anyone else can. He knows exactly what you need and what's best for you. He can protect you from all evil if you trust in him, and guide you to heaven! Nothing is impossible for him to accomplish for you. He is with you always and can be contacted instantly. His love for you is greater than any human love. Put yourself entirely in his hands and you'll become like him. So, seek to attain union with God to enjoy the extraordinary and most exalted relationship you can possibly have for your existence.

*Judge Not, lest Ye Be Judged

        Those who judge others quickly are easily the ones who have trouble forgiving others. We should not judge others for the following reasons. (1) God has commanded us not to judge. (2) We can easily be wrong about others. In my own case, quite a few times I thought someone was not so nice and it turned out to be untrue. Not being God, we don't know everything. (3) Would you want others to judge you? (4) Ask yourself if you are truly a better person than the one you judge. God who is perfect does not even judge us as long as we are still alive in this world. (5) Remember that the last shall be first, so some of those you judge may even enter the kingdom of heaven before you do. 

**Courageous Speech*

         In the news is this courageous parent speaking up at a school board meeting in Carmel, New York. It shows how evil has also infiltrated our school system. Watch the video before it gets removed from YouTube. 

**How to Treat Evildoers

         Today I saw a photo posted online showing two public figures posing in a disgusting manner. There are now so many such sick and godless people out there that many people, including Christians, wish that they would die and/or go to hell. We must ask how Jesus would want us to treat them. I know the Lord must be weeping over them, for they know not what they do and he loves them all. I also know that he does not want us to judge them. So like him, we should pity them and pray for them, especially if you know that you are heaven bound. If we hate or judge them, we may get locked out of heaven ourselves. For to receive mercy from God, we must be merciful to others.

***How to Stop Sinning

         After we commit a sin and feel sorry about it, we can always repent and ask the Lord to forgive us (or go to confession if the sin is serious). Then he takes the sin away and we are clean again. But the tendency to sin still remains. To take care of that, you need to surrender to God completely. Once you attain union with him, he removes that as well. Now you live in great peace.

**Blessed the Clean of Heart

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Here's one of the Beatitudes he gave: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God." I say amen to that. One who has a clean heart is with the Lord, for he has nothing to hide, and he enjoys his constant companionship. Let the Lord purge you of all your sins so that you may enjoy living a happy and peaceful life in him.

*****Beautiful Ave Maria

         I have posted a number of recordings of Ave Maria in the right sidebar under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos.... Of course, Schubert and Bach/Gounod's Ave Maria are best known. But in recent years, William Gomez of El Salvador composed an Ave Maria that's magnificent. I also love the version by the Polish composer Lorenc which was played in the Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ film. You can find all these videos in my list. Today I am going to post another beautiful Ave Maria attributed to the 16th century Italian composer Giulio Caccini and the 20th century Russian composer Vladimir Vavilov. I listed both names because no one is sure who the original composer was. 
       I was deeply moved by the song. The melody is gorgeous and the images shown in the video made me realize how sorrowful Mary must have felt about the death of her son. Her sorrow must have been doubly intense and painful, as Jesus was not only her son, but also her Lord! Then I realize that Jesus is not only my friend and soulmate, but also my Lord and Savior, and my joy doubled! The video is long because the song was played I think three times over. But if you are drawn into it, you can meditate on it and time will go by quickly. May watching this video increase you love for both Christ and his (and our) mother.

**Christ Our Liberator!*

         As you might know, I like both music and photography. I enjoyed listening to various genres of music. Performed well, music can touch one's heart and perhaps even the soul. As I photograph, I look for images that resonate with me. So what I see often touches me deeply too. Then Christ, whom I do not hear nor see, captures my heart and soul totally—this is the amazing part. I know that there are people who live only for their music or the art they create. But only Christ is worth dying for! After you know him, all else just fade away. Now you remain free in him and live for him only, no longer attached to anything in the world.

**Jesus the True God

         Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. If Christ is truly our Lord God and Savior, then we must absolutely take him seriously, for our entire existence and survival now depends upon him. To ignore, dismiss, or reject him can no longer be an option. If you don't have him, you'll have absolutely no one else to go to, for there is not another one like him. I am being dead serious. Again, it's all or nothing with the Lord, a mark of the true God.

*Who Are Our Worst Enemies?

         In today's first reading from Tobit 12, one statement the angel Raphael said to Tobit and his son Tobiah struck me: "Those habitually of sin are their own worst enemies." So every time we sin, we simply convict ourselves.

*The Panicky Evildoer

         A good Christian has no fear of evil because God is with him; he always hopes for the best in the Lord and never panics. On the other hand, an evil person panics easily for fear of being exposed at any time. (At least he still has some conscience left, one reason we should never write anyone off completely.)

**Do You Realize . . .

that how many good deeds you perform in life doesn't count as much as how much you obey the Lord in all things?

**God's Will, Our Emergency

         We normally do what we want to do first. If some emergency comes up, then we have no choice but to drop whatever we're doing and attend to that emergency first. If God's will is made clear to us, we must also treat it like an emergency and drop whatever we were doing to attend to his will first. The Lord will sure reward you amply. (Think of yourself as an emergency doctor serving the Lord, saving souls.)

****Obedience Took Time

         I talked about being of one heart and one mind with God in my last post. I recall my early days as a Christian. Yes, i believed in Christ, but I wasn't one with him yet. I called him Lord, not realizing that in reality I was still my own lord. I did not go against him, but I didn't obey him in all things either. My conscience sharpened only after I got to know him better. To transfer all my authority to him is not something that dawned on me, especially when I wasn't committing any sin that seemed to be serious to me at the time. Only after knowing him much better did I realize that God demands perfection from us, for any sin wounds him. Of course, once you fall in love in him, you naturally want to become like him. Now your conscience becomes super sharp, guarding you against sinning. With that you experience freedom and peace. Now I know why I didn't feel free nor have peace before—I didn't let my Lord be my lord. I was a hypocrite all right.

***Our Ultimate Fulfillment***

        I know of people who practice meditation, hoping to achieve some sort of nirvana or enlightenment. This is playing a dangerous game because you don't know what you can get yourself into. Unknown spirits are legion out there, ready to enter your life. This I can personally testify. Then you can meditate like that for many years and realize nothing extraordinary, and whatever you might realize still turns out to be your own thoughts. Meditating upon the Lord is totally different. For one thing, you already know who he is, the only true holy God. The other thing is that you don't have to strive hard in any way, hoping to receive wisdom or illumination. On the contrary, you only need to be receptive to his word and rest passively in him at all times. Then he'll reveal all you need to know for your salvation. This is spontaneous, effortless learning, opposite to how we learn things in the world. This is how how we can achieve union with the Lord with the aid of the Holy Eucharist. To be of one heart and one mind with the Lord is our ultimate fulfillment on earth.

*****Holy Eucharist Being Abused

           As I was walking this morning, I saw that the Holy Eucharist is an amazing awesome gift the Lord has given us. It is the Lord's own flesh and blood. In John 6:54-55, Jesus said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. For my flesh is true food, and my blood true drink."
        When you receive this Most Blessed Sacrament, you are receiving your creator and the Lord of heaven and earth physically into you! Therefore, you must be in a state of grace. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, Paul wrote: Whoever eat the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
       How can we not be ready beforehand and still remain the same sinner afterwards? Not only we must prepare myself for receiving such a glorious gift, we should also spend time thanking the Lord for such a great privilege and favor. Instead, parishioners leave right after or even before Mass ends. How could we treat the Lord so casually? The Church has surely failed in teaching her flocks. Now pretty much anyone who goes up to receive the Eucharist gets it—one may not even believe in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist or is in a state of mortal sin. Why don't priests from time to time before Mass remind us of the requirements for receiving the Holy Eucharist, especially at Easter and Christmas times when all the CINOs surface? Don't we care about how the Lord feels anymore? 

**Letting God Change You

         Do you ever feel the need to change yourself for the better? As sinners, we know that we are not perfect, and the Lord God of Christ is the perfect one who can fundamentally change us to make us perfect. Ask him to to do that and you'll please God as well as feel happy with yourself.

**Great Tragedy to Avoid

         God is always calling us. We are all given a conscience, and we need to have a clear conscience to hear his calls. The voice of the Lord is ever so gentle that a soul in turmoil won't be able to hear it. To have some time to turn to God is absolutely crucial to hearing him. Living a busy life, you can easily not hear the Lord your whole life and miss all the golden opportunities to reconcile yourself to him. This would indeed be a great tragedy.

**Saving Souls

         We want to bring as many souls as possible to Christ. There are some who are doing this work admirably, for they are gifted speakers or writers and know how to spread their messages through mass media and by other means. How about many of us who are not able to reach so many souls. The Lord made me see that we only need to enter deeper into him. For the more we are in tune with him, the more effective our prayers will be, and deep prayer is the key to saving more souls. Where we lack power, the Lord fills in. Do our small part well and our works will become great too.

***Treat God the Way You Want to Be Treated by Him

       Listen to God and he'll listen to you. Respect God and he'll respect you. Praise him and he'll praise you. Trust him and he'll trust you. Enjoy him and he'll enjoy you. Open up to him and he'll open up to you. Communicate with him and he'll communicate with you. If he is beautiful to you, you'll be beautiful to him. Appreciate him and he'd appreciate that. See how you can make God treat you according to your wish? But no matter what you treat him, he'll always love you. 

****Breaking Free from Sexual Enslavement

         Men are often enslaved by physical desires, among which the sexual desire, especially in today's culture, can be dominant and overpowering. The pleasure men get from sex makes such a sin most difficult to overcome, even though they know that if they indulge in it too much, the pleasure can become sickening. Nevertheless, with gratification on mind, you don't think beyond it. To break free of such enslavement or any serious bondage, you absolute need God to enter your life. Submitting yourself completely to the Lord is always hard, but you must make your first attempt. Much prayer is needed. Find someone with faith to pray with you. Know that your soul is at stake and it's either do or die. Only by experiencing the peace and joy of the Lord will you be able to overcome this sin. Know that nothing is impossible for God. Cry out to the Lord from you heart if you must and he will surely hear and take care of you. 

**Thanks to Another Musician

         Through Nahre Sol, the pianist and composer whom I posted about on May 31, I came to learn about Andrew Huang whom Nahre Sol interviewed in her video The Brilliance of Andrew Huang. He is a Canadian musician very popular on social media. On YouTube alone he has almost 600 videos, garnering 2.2 million subscribers. I think Andrew is creative, ingenious, and a hard worker, not afraid of exploring lots of genres and instruments. While many talented people are admirable, they also make me treasure what I've chosen to follow even more. What I have discovered in my Christ is not only rich and beautiful beyond words, but also absolutely pure and simple. I only need to lie back and enjoy the Lord.

***Challenging Message from Jesus

        In today's Gospel acclamation from John 11, Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die." Is there anything not clear to you? If you do not believe in Jesus, it has to be either you believe that he was lying to you or you just reject the truth.

***Requisite for Knowing God

        Since God knows everything about us, what's in our heart and on our mind, we must be completely honest and truthful to him, for an iota of deviation from that he can instantly detect. Being completely honest and truthful to God greatly strengthens our union with him. This is how we really get to know the Lord.

***Stop Persecuting Priests

          This is today's post from Fr. Corapi. We need to support and pray for all the priests who speak the truth. The video shows the silencing of some of these priests, but there are more cases. 

**Great Realization

        As we age and experience physical deterioration and begin to depend upon others more to do some of the things for us, we think about God more. When we were young, we might be attracted to God, but still thought that there's so much time left that we easily attended to things of the world first. For me, I now catch myself making more and more mistakes even in typing a message like this one, as the old physical dexterity is no longer there. Anyway, turning to God is a great blessing! The ultimate realization is that the God of Christ is all we need. For all things of the world pass. 

**Most Glorious Feeling!

        Today's Gospel acclamation comes from Ephesians 1 in which Paul prayed for all that God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ might open the eyes of their hearts. Yes, our hearts also have eyes and ears through which God communicates with us and we get to know him intimately. When you are totally obedient and receptive to the Lord (or in union with him), you hear and see him. He now is your lifeline, your inspiration, your counselor and guide. Hearing the voice from him alone is enough to transform, nourish, and sustain us. Now you know that you are one with and belong to your God. What a glorious feeling!

***Be Prepared

        June begins today. The temperature had been mild and delightful in the 70s until yesterday, when it shot up to over 100 degrees. It looks like today is going to be another scorcher. Talk about sudden change. Big changes in life always seem to happen unexpectedly, such as the death of someone you love or a serious traffic accident. God's warnings and chastisements also come to us that way. Be prepared is our best preparation. If you are prepared to meet the Lord at any time, then you are prepared for anything that might happen to you in this life.

**Inspired by a Musician

        There is a very talented, creative classical pianist and composer named Nahre Sol who explores all genres of music and presents her findings on many YouTube videos. As one interested in piano music, I watched her recent video Nahre Sol Answers Your Questions. She says what she wants to accomplish is to spread her enthusiasm about music and her love for music to others. She has no idea where it will all end, but it's her obsession and feels happy about it. What came to my mind was that as Christians, what we want to accomplish should be to spread the good news about Christ and our love for him to others. We have no idea (in fact we shouldn't be concerned about) where it will all end, but it's our duty to do so and feel happy about it. Thank you, Nahre Sol.

*****Praising the Most Holy Trinity

        Today is The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Lord makes me see that our greatest sorrow should be for our own sins and our greatest joy for his mercy. And I see that our greatest miracle is to be able to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, how great and glorious you are! May you be praised and adored by all your creatures for ever.

***Secret of Feeing Good About Yourself***

         If you are not truly happy about things in general and yourself, you clearly need God to make you perfect. Your perfection will please God greatly. When God your Father is pleased, you'll have peace and be happy about yourself and everything else. Believe me, I am hitting the truth! We are not happy because we sin, harming others and our own soul. And God is the one who can change all that, making us clean and blameless. It all comes down to having enough humility to submit ourselves to him totally. This is the challenge we all face. Blessed are those who can overcome it by abandoning themselves to God.  

***Support O.U.R.

        Some good news in these dark days. 

***Getting Your Prayers Answered

           In today's Gospel reading from Mark 11, Jesus revealed to us the secret of having your prayers answered. He said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." The Lord loves that you place full confidence in him. How likely he'll grant you what you ask for depends upon how much you trust in him.

**The Joy of Christ

         If you already belong to Christ and know that you are heaven bound, what does it matter if you have to go through some hardships in this life? It may be easily said than done, but it does completely make sense. True, if you know you are going to be happy forever, you shouldn't feel unhappy anymore. The fact is that you can achieve this, as the joy of knowing Christ is so great that it's able to subdue all unhappiness.

***Sad State of Mankind*

         The Lord God is wide open to us. His love is boundless and mercy infinite. The process of getting saved from sin and to heaven can't be simpler. Give yourself to God and all he has is yours. Yet how do we respond? In most cases we act as if we don't care! What has happened to our hearts, our conscience? Warnings have been coming to us nonstop and chastisements have already begun, but people remain blind, deaf, and close-hearted. If they don't repent and convert now, will they likely do so in their dying moments? I wonder.